Plant details

This aromatic annual produces fine, blue-green, edible leaves, which can often be cut for use only eight weeks after sowing, followed by flat heads of small flowers that form seeds with a more concentrated and penetrating flavour, widely used to produce dill water or gripe water for digestive upsets. Some varieties will develop a lot more leaves than normal, especially if watered in dry weather, while others quickly produce extra large seed-heads. Grow the basic species if you want both crops together, or choose a specialised strain. Dill is best grown in a sunny site, in light to medium rich soils that must be moist. It does not like shade.